Crucial to a good musical performance is a musician's confidence of knowing and hearing what he or she is playing. When the bass is low or lost in a crowded sound mix, a musician can often feel anxiety and loss of confidence, which may result in a poor performance or an overall negative experience. Modern musicians often utilize headphones, earphones, or in-ear monitors to receive auditory feedback from their own instruments as well as from the instruments of other musicians. Most headphones, earphones, or in-ear monitors lack adequate low-frequency drivers, thereby low tone sound is unable to be heard satisfactorily. To compensate, musicians often raise the overall volume to an unhealthy decibel level, or play harder which can add additional stress to their hands and fingers.
Low frequency tones are intuitively more felt than heard, and are most effectively transmitted through direct physical contact with the vibrations generated by sound. One characteristic of a live musical performance in a stadium or large auditorium is the presence of expensive performance equipment, such as amplifiers and large arrays of speakers. The amplifiers increase the signal level from a musical instrument, such as a bass guitar, and subsequently the amplified signal level drives the large array of speakers. These speakers are usually located behind the bassist. The bassist has the ability to adjust the tone of the speakers. Furthermore, the large array of speakers provide auditory and tactile feedback of the music being played. The speakers produce pressure sound waves which can be felt on the back of the bassist, affirming feedback consistent with what the bassist is playing. Not only does this tactile feedback assure the musician of what he or she is playing, it provides a larger sensory experience that goes beyond auditory and extends into the tactile realm.
However, this heightened sensory experience is not available to musicians who do not have access to the aforementioned performance equipment or where this equipment is not desired, such as an orchestra pit or quiet stage. Moreover, this tactile sensory experience is not available when a musician practices, which is often in a small space without a full musical accompaniment. Therefore, there is a need for a system and method for transmitting low frequency vibrations via a tactile feedback device.